CATS

CAPITOL AREA TIMEX/SINCLAIR.
USERS GROUP :Formerly
Prince George's
Timex/Sinclair User's Group

NEWSLETTER

Apri! 1?85

Vol. 3, No. 1
+ + + CONTENTS + * +
President's Column 1 File Maintainance if
My Word 3 QSL Card 12
Spectrum Feedback 4 Thoughts We've Had 13
Dr a Monitor 5 Fat Characters 14
SP 5 Reply to Stew 15
Tasword Review 2, Amortize 1000 15
Inside the Machine 8 Double Precision 17
Menu Subroutine 19 Renumbering GOTOs 18
Joystick 1/0 и

PRESIDENT'S COLUMN
Writing For the ‘Letter

Опсе again, articles are coming in from a variety of
sources, Not al! of them made it into this issue, but I’m
standing behind my policy of printing everything that's
submitted by members. 1f you don’t see it in this issue,
look for it nex! month. Another newsletter said; "If you
don't see your article, you probably didn’t write оле!" Once
again, anything you've got is fine - especially REVIEWS,
or short to medium length programs.

Future Business

The CATS library is here! We have а tape of public
domain 2868 programs that will be available at the next
meeting. The programs run fron simple graphics demos tc Ned
Beeler's mailing 1154 program. 14 you want a copy, bring
your recorder, patch cord, ало a 248 or 98 tape to the next
meeting, and some cooperative member will oversee the use of
the tape to tape duplicating equipment. Right now, we can
make three dups at once, but that probably can be expanded,

If you have programs to donate, bring them to the next
meeting also, and we^!] compile them for the one after that.
Public Domain means homebrew programs, and those that have
been typed in from magazines.

The ‘Executive’ Committee

I’ve been hosting a meeting of interested club members,
every Monday evening at 7:38, We generally end up with a mix
of club business and individual problems or triumphs.

Last week, Tom Bent came and demonstrated his nethod of
nodifying the 1888 for faster 1.040199, His method is
somewhat original - he uses nippers to lop off the upper
half of the filter cap (C11) on the mic output, He also had
à nunber of other ways to prune your 2868 for better perfor-
mance; for stronger SAVEs on the 2868, clip C 18; for more
sensitivity on LOAD, change R 12 from 4.9K to 1.8K.

This week, Murray Barasch brought a program he was
trying to debug, and we got it going, as well as polishing
up the newsletter for the printer.

Everyone is invited to these meetings - if you've got
time, come on down!

Errata 2

The IRSCALC progra last month was a great way to get
that ol’ 1848 done, except that severa! of the formulas I
listed were wrong. The correct ones are:

Fé
E9
FLi
F28

В87%287%007%Е0?
I07*J07*K07*L87*M07
T07*U874U874407
H11*111

Last Meeting.... and Next.

The March meeting went very well. Tom Bent showed an
adapter to use joysticks with Spectrum programs, and Mike
Cohen demo’d his baby MacIntosh. Next month... is up in the
air, as usual. I’m hoping to get a QL, but no pronises. If
you've got something to show, to the whole group or just a
portion, jet me Know and we'i] make room, We may hold an
advanced seminar on the Timex hardware on the day following
= details to be announced.

See you there! Marve ٣ح‎

Mention

SPECIAL INTEREST
ACTIVITIES

At the last meeting, seven to eight people
indicated interest in each of two activities:
MACHINE CODE (cr assembly language) and
BUSINESS and INVESTMENT applications.

John Conger will again lead the applications group
and is devising a topics schedule. Fisher, Conger,
Bent and others are devising a curriculum and
selecting text materials for the machine language
course.

All those who signed up will be contacted before
the programs jell to assure suitable direction and
level to meet member's interests. Others
interested may sign up at the April meeting and we
expect to get going on a regular basis in mid
April. Anyone with suggestions for either group
can call Conger or Fisher in the evenings. Conger:
654 5751; Fisher: 589 7407

9%%9%9%999%9%0Ұ%7%997У9%999999999%9996

SUBMISSIONS for this newsletter are eagerly
solicited. First priority will be given to

member's submissions. Publication of material does
not transfer rights from the author, in fact, it

may establish priority.

Submissions may be reviews, articles on
applications, programming techniques, hardware, or
anything else you can imagine. Pertinent articles
*rom other publications will also be considered.

Bring material to the meeting, or send it to PO
box 725, Bladensburg, MD 20710. I would prefer
material to be typed, single spaced, in 3%" columns
- but don't break your back: the Xerox dosen't
really care. Printouts from the 2046 printer are
fine, but, use Radio Shack paper, and don't put
scotch tape over the printing.

Permission is hereby granted for reprints of

articles in nonprofit user group newsletters.
Please give credit to CATS and the author.

IMPORTANT DATES:

Newsletter аЛ Meeting

April 13
April 19 May 11
May 17 June 8
June 17 Ішуіз
See you there!

1945

x

WHITE.)

AD RATES CATS NEWSLETTER

` FULL PAGE $100 294 570 1080
HALF PAGE 55 161 313 5%
QUARTER PAGE 30 88 171 324
Business CARD 15 453 81 155

(7" WIDE BY 10" LONG MAXIMUM SIZE,
CAMERA READY MATERIAL

WE WILL MAIL YOUR ENCLOSURE. READY

TO MAIL WITH NEWSLETTER, WE WILL
CHARGE ACCORDING TO SIZE OF ENCLOSURE,
ASK US FOR QUOTE AND NUMBER NEEDED,
(8.5" x Ц” sizE-$25 PER ISSUE.)

х ж IK

IN BLACK AND

CATS ROSTER OF OFFICERS

President
Vice President

2nd Vice Pres.

Secretary

Treasurer

Mark Fisher
Mike Cohen
Wayson Lee
Bob Curnutt

Sarah Fisher

Newsletter Team

Production Editor:
Sarah Fisher
Manuscript Editor
Mark Fisher
Post Office liason:
Jules Gesang
Writers:
Anne Andersen
Anon.

RESOURCES

Tony Brooks
John Conger
Lamont Downs
Mark Fisher
Sarah Fisher
Bob Lussier
Mike Morris
Roald Schrack
Vernon Smith
Stew Vance
Bill Ware

dust one publication this month, a tried and true

Journal, and still going strong.

QZX (HAM radio & Sinclair computer) 2/2:00

Alex Burr
2025 O'Donneil Dr.

2 Las Cruces, NM 88001

My WORD

THE COMPUTER ENTREPRENEURS

By Levering, Katz & Moskowitz

In its start-up years, the automobile industry had hundreds of back yard
tinkerers bolting metal together to build a motorized vehicle that would make
their fortunes. We Know of Henry Ford and Walter Chrysler, but who remembers
the contributions (let alone the names) of the many others? This book makes
the laudabile attempt to profile the Personal Compuer industry at its start,
before the shake out that is expected to reduce the hundreds now active to the
dozen likely to survive.

Sixty fiue entrepreneurs are sketched in brief biographies and some data that
tell us where they came from and how they failed or made millions - or both.
Not just computer designers and software wizards are covered. The contents
give almost equal space to peripheral providers like Hayes modems and Tandon
disk drives; Shopkeepers like Millard, the first compter billionaire and owner
of ComputerLand; information moguls like Brunnell of PC World and Wilkins of
CompuServe; moneybags and gurus like Rock, McKenna and venture capitalist
Perkins. One Japanese is covered although a sepa ate book would be required
for the hundreds active there.

As a reference source of "who done it", it is useful for those of us who like
to follow industry developments. However, it is marred by two flaws, the main
one being who is left out and the second being the lack of dates when many
signifiant events occurred.

Those who have read Fire in the Valley will have a more complete picture of
the flow of history than can be presented by the 65 biographies in the subject
book. The Computer Entrepreneurs does not include (or gives only passing
mention to) Ed Roberts who really started it all with his Altair 8088 kits.
And the information moguls section omits Les Solomon, technical editor of
Popular Electronics (now Computers and Electronics). These two men gave the
personal computer its start. Another missing name is Robert Noyce of Intel who
produced the 8888 chip and some computers using it, before the Altair. The
compters were for his stable of programmers, like Gary Kildall, to use in
their work. The names of these men are not highlighted as I feel they should
be. And of course Sinclair is not mentioned at all.

Still, the stories that are told are facinating: Tramiel, a Polish survivor of
Auschwitz who built a typewriter repair shop into Commdore; Mitch Kapor the
transcendental meditation teacher who saw his Lotus 123 program humble
Visicalc; Phillip Hwang the Korean immigrant dishwsher now worth half a
billions; and of course the career highlihts of well Known personalities such
as Steve Jobs, George Morrow, Andrew Kay, Adam Osborne; Bill Gates and George
Tate.

This book turns out to be more of a "people" book than the industry profile it
set out to be. AS such it has much interesting human interest content,
although it also has many holes in it due to the chosen format.

All in all, if you have read Fire in the Valley then you have read much of the
material covered here, and "Fire" is the more complete and competent history
of the industry as well as providing more depth and color to the characters
involved, 3

MORE SPECTRUM FEEDBACK, #1

Listed below are a number of
on the 2468 with sn Emulator. Tk
bed ch. but I make no Promis
mulaticon wi h superb 3

rum Prosa
zhould run

'aPhics

Arcade samPlen.-Threg simPle arcade Games.
Mar of the Worlds.

Sabre Mulr.-V
The fall of Ё
Football manager, ~
Bing Arthers
Battlecars.

HPacal
Selec

Gate. Space I x
Defense: Pool. Tran
Deus Ex Machina.

f 1904 in Ш.К.
he Roman EmPire for
cer team,

Yet another adventure Game,

ounds CHunchback. SPectre
ir Мітры i i
n Meteor
Comes with matching music tare.

.-This tafe includes a word P

idsheet »
not run

OCEAN рге
database. and grathies Plotter. The word Processor will
using an Emulator.

I've seen a Great deal of nonsense in Print
will run only Bay of 5

imate is at least 95%.

bout the Emulator
um software., This

I bus all chrom software direct from England. Most
British softia uPPliers will send tapes direct to the U.S.A.
for cost Plus 1 or 2 Pounds extra Pos е. Just look in
magazines such ғ ComPutins and Sinclair User. All sou need
to do is quote sour credit card number. The cost advantage is
obvious. most SPectrum software costs 3 to 18 Pounds compared
with $28 and uF in the U.S.A,

Regards.
Tons Brooks

This letter was done usina Macript adapted to drive the
interface. The Printer used was a Gorilla-Banana.

MORE SPECTRUM FEEDBACK, #2

I

dere. Oh cffc mE MOM шш mm

Б

т
NOTA DMA TI ENO OOM cr
KINO Hw Deeg pea xam

: Rstronose
4 (443 Delta Wins continued on р.5

DRIVING A MONITOR
‘From the T/S 1000

The Т/5 1000 was designed to produce useable
results on a standard TV. Its display was limited
to 32 character 5, partly to ensure that the
letters were still legible. They are larger, but
if you spend a lot of time in front of the set,
the blurriness of the standard TV screen can be
wearing. The fault lies in the circuits of the
reciever. A standard TV is designed to create a
pleasing image from 6 feet - while at 18 inches,
the features are often blurred.

A monitor, on the other hand, has been
designed іс produce a crisp image up close.
Unfortunately, the average moniter requires a
different signal than a standard TV, and the 1000
does not offer a suitable output. Like many other
things with this machine, this can be changed!
The correct signal is present, but is too weak tc
drive a monitor. The mod invclves making three
solder connections within the machine, to add a
one transistor amplifer for the signal.

The Mod...
Materials required are:

2N222 Transistcr (Radio Shack sells these, but
theirs are of variable quality. A Motorola
version will have a higher gain and a crisper
output than the average Radio Shack
specimen.)

33 N, 1/4 watt resistor

100 ft, 1/4 watt resistor

ІМ914 glass diode. Don't worry about the precise
part number - ali those little fellers are
about the same.

A panel mount RCA Jack (ex. Radio Shack 274-346)

The circuit can be put almost anywhere. There
is room to fit it inside the modulator without
affecting its operation, thus leaving an
uncluttered machine, & the option of either TV or
monitor output. It involves drilling holes very
near to some resistors in the modulator, but I
think that the results are worth it.

To install the circuit, first remove the ULA
and 286 chips, and store them in aluminum foil (to
protect against static electricity). Next,
carefully drill the 1/4" hole for the jack, and
the 1/16 hole for the signal line. Solder up the
assembly outside the case, and install it, being
careful not to leave any solder where it shouldn't
be. Carve the case to fit the new jack, insert the
chips, and enjoy!

hole, cane Y

case Lo clear)

continued from p.4
(45) Eddie Kidd
(463 ман JONG
471 River Raid
(45) Black Cryst
149) Address Man

2:
мы //- --------

continued on p.9

dump Challenge

al
ager

150) TUBECUBE (2D Rubik ’s Cube!

151) The HOBBIT

159) Onnicalic II
(68) Super Re-Nu
(611 Supercode II

i68) Spectrograp
(63) Superchess
(643 Zombie Говь

SD Ant Atta

Я few Spect
at would not R

(4) Eights
(5) Uagan Attack

TSUG Vancouver

mber

hics

3.8

ie (sequel to
tk)

rum progra
UN on the R

PURSE

R. Lussier
MEMBER

For 2068 Users Only: DRESS UP YOUR GANE PROCRRHS WITH A SPLASH OF COLOR

by Lamont Downs

Here's a short program that you can merge with almost any
game-type program and which enables you to change the paper
color of the entire screen in a flash WITHOUT AFFECTING ANYTHING
ELSE ON THE SCREEN. For example, if you've got a spaceship
traveling across a black sky you can cause the entire sky to
flash red for an instant and then back to black without
erasing anything or changing any of the ink colors - and do
it without having to remember any complicated USRs or even
line numbers!

To use, first type in the program below and SAVE it. Then
LOAD (or type in) the program you want to "decorate." Be sure
the program does not have a line 1 or any lines from 9970 to
9989 (if it does, relocate them). Then MERGE the program below.

Now all you have to do to change paper color anywhere in
the program is to insert the command GOSUB followed by the first
three letters of the color (GO SUB blu, GO SUB gre, etc.).

For example, if you have a blue sky background, you can light
up the sky witha red flash with the following program
ine:

GO SUB red:PAUSE 2:00 SUB blu
You can create dandy explosions by using sequences of colors
(red-green-yellow-green-red) etc.). Some moniters will "tear"
if colors change too quickly, so you may need to experiment
with the length of the pauses for best effect. And don't
forget you can throw in sound effects using the SOUND command
instead of the PAUSE.

One last warning: until line 1 is executed the machine
code for changing color is not loaded into memory and the program
will crash if you try to change colors, so if you're starting
the program somewhere other than line 1 be sure that you take

this into account.
Splash’

| PT DNE Sean 103: Роке, стазе,
1 CLER : З 175: гапа =
cti ipo 2,2, ме x. M сеа
9972 Fi z65280 Ti 4: RERD 2883: 6 2
"n Boke п, Е NEXT 9 8529 Berane E 175: LET randzUS
4 29980: LET blu=9981: 2
эзе FE = 992; Per та9=9983: LET 9984 POKE 55288.159: POKE 65290,
gre=9984: LET cya=9985: LET yet 167: POKE 85292,2398: LET гапа=05
z9986: LET whi =9987 Я 855280: RETURN
8975 RETURN 9985 POKE 55233,223: POKE 65290.
9978 CATA 1,192,2,33,0.88,126,20 167: POKE 55292,2398: LET гапа=05
3,0,203,0,203,0,119,55,62,0,11.1 R 85280: RETURN =
85,32,241,184,32,236,201 8986 POKE 55233,153: POKE 65290,
8880 POKE 65288,159: POKE 65298, 231: POKE 65892,2598: LET rand=U5
167: POKE 552392,175: LET гапа=05 Я 65280: RETURN "
R 65280: RETURN 2 POKE 65288,223: POKE 65290,
R

8931 POKE 55233,223: POKE 65290, POKE 65292,239: LET randzus
167: POKE 55292,175: LET гапа=05
R 65230: RETURN

65230: RETURN

TASWORD TWO

When I was asked to write about the Tasword Two word
processing program I'd just received from England, my first
thought was that I lacked the proper background to evaluate the
program’s merits. I was the guy that spent a week learning to
operate the company word processor but still writes out
manuscripts. Give it to a typist. So I faced Tasword with a
certain amount of trepidation. After using it a while, I have to
give it a top grade in my book. In writing this article I
received some unexpected help from Tom Ferrebee’s article in
Vol. 11 of TS Horizons. I hope Tom won't mind but І have
reproduced his excellent outline of the system's features.

The system loads in just under 2 minutes and starts with a
blinking cursor in the upper left corner of the screen, which is
64 characters wide. An "information" line at the bottom gives
the line number and column position of the cursor, tells if
right justification, word wrap, and the insert mode is ON or
Off, and, lastly, to push EDIT if help is needed. For first time
users there is an excellent tutorial that quickly teaches how to
use the numerous functions of the program. The help screen
contains a listing of the "normal" mode commands, all of which
are accessed by holding down one of the shift keys and the
applicable function key. The second, or "extended" mode, is
accessed by pushing the symbol and caps shift keys
simultaneously. These commands are mainly used for formatting
and some miscellaneous functions. The execution of these
commands is also different from the normal mode, since once you
are in the extended mode, you only have to press a single key,
but the system reverts to the normal mode after the key stroke.

Tasword differs from MSCRIFT in that it supports a ZX
printer, as well as a full sized printer utilizing a Centronics
parallel interface. When you are ready to print using a full
sized printer, you access the Print screen by using the Stop
command. You then have the option of defining your graphics or
using the Epson FX80 character codes which are imbedded in the
program. This screen is also used to load or save text files.

TASWORD TWO SPECIFICATIONS

Screen size 64x22

Text file size 19,200

Printers Both

Inter face Centronics

Cursor by Letter, word, line, or screen
Delete by Letter, word, or line
Margins Left or right

Block Move or copy

Search Find or replace
Wordwrap Yes

Right justify Yes

Centering Yes

Line length 64

Spacing 1,2,3*

Tutorial Yes

My only wish is that Tasword Two had a Tab capability. It
is a little awkward to have to pound the space bar to get
paragraph indentations. It is, however, an excellent WP program.
Now that I've gotten used to it, it's fun to use. Goodby, paper
and pen! 7 Vernon Smith

Inside the machine

For the average computer owner, canned programs
ог home-brew programs in BASIC will do the jobs we
had in mind when we bought the computer. At one time
or another, however, all of us will have a need to
Know something of the inner workings of our purchase.
This may be the result of a need to do things that
BASIC can't do - such as control 1/0 ports to an
alarm system for example - or it may be a need to
remove some of the sense of uncontrollable magic from
the machine. While replaceing this feeling of
mystery, we willgain an appreciation of at least
four interlocKing levels of complexity in the
machine. Starting from the smallest, they are:

1. The actual hardware: wires and semi-

conductor switches.

2. The machine code that controls these

switches.

3. The BASIC (or other high level language) that

lets you easily invoke the machine code, and...

4. The real world problems that are addressed by

your programs.

THE REAL WORLD

Now let's work backwards through those levels.
The real world offers an infinite number of
situations that need some sort of calculation. If you
need assistance, you go to an expert, who asks you
questions, then provides an answer. Some canned
programs operate at this level - they ask you
questions, you respond, and they provide you with the
results.

HIGH LEVEL LANGUAGES

Over the last 10,000 years, we have developed
symbolic tools to assist us. These include the
alphabet and language, and the number system and
algebra. The real world tools can be adapted to the
computer. The result is a programming language. It
uses (in the case of BASIC) English words to describe
its functions, and algebraic notation to express the
mathematical operations. [Neither the English, nor
the algebraic notation conform to the original, "real
world" standard. They have been modified to
accomodate the remaining two levels of complexity.
At this level, numbers are represented as you would
expect - "16" means ten, while some of the symbols
are new - such as * for times. Generally, this is a
self-sufficient level - you needn't look any farther
when using or programming the machine. Some programs
Can be so complex as to approach a language
themselves in flexibility and power - DBII, or even
VU-CALC are examples.

MACHINE CODE

The third level, machine code, is the level that
actually controls the central processor. In the Timex
there is an extremely complex program of 8192 steps
that is responsible for the operation of the
computer, as well as the interpretation of any BASIC
program that might be present. These are two very
different jobs, and in other computers they are
performed by two different programs.

The first job is that of an operating system.

This portion coordinates the various elements of
hardware, allowing for display, printouts, loading,

and saving of data. The second portionis the BASIC
interpreter and editor. This is the "brain" that you

are fighting as you try to avoid the dreaded inverse
"5", This interpreter can be replaced: for example,

the egregious BASIC that comes with the Commodore can
be replaced with a much more efficient version
(though it's still not as compact as Sinclair
BASIC).

At this level, numbers are represented in
whatever way is most convenient for the program. In
its reports to the display file numbers are expressed
as decimal numbers, but for its own use, there are
four different methods of expression - each used when
most appropriate. It is possible to write your own
programs. in machine code. It requires extensive
knowledge of these deeper levels of the computer, but
also offers enormous freedom and speed. You can make
the computer execute machine code by using "USR nnn",
where nnn is the starting address of the code.

HARDWARE
Numbers as Voltage

In this deepest level all information is in the
form of electrical potential. A +5 volt signal might
represent a "one", while a ground level might
represent a "zero", This might seem very limiting; it
is. Single lines carry information around the
computer, controlling the timing and operation of its
"hidden" accessories. But there isn't any way to have
an individual line for each possible number. Rather,
there are two groups of lines, Known as busses, that
carry numbers, These busses are organized as sets of
eight lines. The first bus is the data bus; it
consists one set of eight. (The second bus is the
address bus - we will get to it ina moment.] There
are 256 different possible patterns of voltage in
these eight lines, ranging from "00000000",
"00000001", "00000010", "80000011",... to "11111111",
This group of eight is called a byte. To express a
number larger than 255, you need a second byte. With
two bytes, you have 2564256 possible numbers, or
65536. This is where the magic 64K number comes from.
(each К-2%2%2%2%2%2%2%2, or 1024)

The "Real" Computer

Now that we have a way to express numbers
electrically, we need to have some device that win
perform operations with these numbers, such às
addition. This is the job of the Central Processing
Unit. Originally, this was a device the size ofa
refrigerator. In a micro, it’s on a chip, called а
microprocessor. it is able to take a series of
numbers from the memory (the machine code) and use
them as instructions, controlling the actions of the
rest of the computer, as well as performing simple
arithmetic and logical steps.

The CPU has a very few locations to hold
numbers, ready to be used. These locations are called
registers, Each register, and the controlling logic
that goes with it, are composed of networks of
transistors. In the 288, data is handled in спе byte
units. Other chips use two bytes (16 bits) or four
bytes (32 bits) for data.

For each byte of machine code that must be
executed, the CPU must perform a number of discrete
steps. These steps are held as mi! ocode, which is
yet a deeper layer of operation. Since it is common
to all 780 CPU chips and cannot be changed, we can
ignore it.

Storage

Acomputer muststore many more numbers than
could possibly be held in registers, however. To
store these numbers, the computer has additional
chips. These form a series of banks of eight
Switches, Each bank can hold one number, between 6
and 255. Each bank has a unique address. (You can
look at each bank from BASIC. Try the first bank
with address zero. "PRINT PEEK @" should give 211)
These banks are called up through the second bus, the
address bus. Since our computer needs more than 256
spaces to store numbers, the address bus is two
bytes wide, allowing 64K different addresses. (Not
all these addresses must be used.)

Methods of Storage
ROMs

There are three ways of physically building
these banks. They can be Jumpers, capacitors, or
transistor networks. Banks of jumpers are called
ROMs. Numbers are stored as a pattern of connections
- intact lines will allow the voltage to build up to
+5У, while open circuits leave the line at @V. These
patterns can only be created in in a factory - as far
as you are concerned, they are Read Only Memory. This
is ideal for a program that always must accompany the
machine, arid that is why the Timex comes with its
operating system in ROM. These can never be erased.

EPROMs

Capacitors can be loaded with numbers at will,
by applying the correct voltage. Once loaded, they
will retain their values for at least ten years,
unless they've been erased. Memory chips with
capacitors are called EPROMs (Eraseable, Programmable
Read Only Memory). These chips are often used in
small production devices, such as interface boards.
These can only be erased with great difficulty, and
then, all information on the chip will be lost.

RAMS

Both devices above are somewhat like engraving
in granite. It would be nice to have something more
like a blackboard that would retain the information
until it was specifically erased. The answer is the
RAM. This is composed of transistor networks that
will stay in an "on" state until specifically turned
“of#", This is the device that holds your BASIC
programs and other information that can be changed at
will. Unfortunately, these chips must constantly have
a supply of +5V to Keep the transistors happy. А very
shont interruption causes all the banks to return to
zero.

This completes cur tour of the levels of the
Computer. Each level is adapted to dealing with both
the level above, and the level below. In your
relations with the computer, you can decide what
levelis most appropriate, from the most general
canned program, to the most detailed hardware level.
Fortunately, the computer is an amazingly forgiving
device. Except for the hardware level, you can't hurt
the machine with an incorrect command. Your program
may crash, but the computer will patiently wait for
you to try again.

Mark Fisher

continued from р.5

45V

ING or
(№4148

toot

Monitor Amp Schematic

SULROUTINE TCR MENU SELECTION
by

Mrs. Anne U. Andersen

This subroutine was written for the

T/S 1000 in the BASIC languare. It
will also work on the T/S 1500, and
Probably on many other computers. It

tay be used to input any single-digit
number (from zero through nine),
perhaps after a menu has been printed.

This subroutine has some advantages
compared to an INPUT instruction. With
this subroutine, the user presses only
one key per character (without pressing
ENTER). Also, if the user does not
wish to respond to the prompt, the
FREAK key may be used to interrupt the
progran.

10 ВЕН INPUT SUBROUTINE.

11 IF INKEYS$<>"" THEN СОТО 11

12 PRINT AT 21,1;"? 4

13 LET A$=INKEYS

14 IF А$="" THEN COTO 13

15 PRINT AT 21,1;4$

16 IF AS<"O" OR A$»"9" THEN СОТО 11
17 LET I-VAL A$

19 RETURN

Line 11 makes the program wait, if
necessary, until the system is ready to
receive a new character fron the
keyboard. Line 12 prints 4 question
mark near the lower left corner of the
screen. It also erases the next five
spaces, to finish deleting the previous
value (even if it vas a shifted command
word). In line 12, I really use an
inverted question mark -- but this
printer has no inverse characters.

The user presses one key (without
pressing ENTER). Line 13 gets this
character and stores it in AS. Line l4

makes the prouras wait until the user
has pressed a key. Line 15 prints the
character, and line 16 tests it.
Re jected characters are erased and
іспогей, instead of interrupting the

program with error code "C".

1e

Line 17 converts the character to a
numeric value. Sone prorrams may not
neec this line.

This routine was derived from a
tyrewriter routine in the Timex User
Manual. Many variations ure possible.

The location of the
question mark) could be moved by
modifying the "21,1" in lines 12 and
15. Line 16 could be modified to acree
with a different menu, provided each
choice is represented by a single

character. The character need not be
numeric.

“cursor” (the

This routine is not designed for
entering multiple-character values. It
is usually best to use an INPUT
instruction for such values. However,
it would be possihle to write a routine
which would accept multiple-character
values keyed without ENTFR, provided
the count of characters for that value
is constant.

The first word on each line is a
single-key instruction. In lines 115
14, and 16, "СОТО" is а single-key
coumand word, and "THEN" and "OR"
are shifted sinple-key items. In line

11, the Ж must be obtained by
pressing shifted T. In line 12, I
obtain an inverse question mark by
pressing, shifted 9 (CRAPHICS) to ret

the inverse С cursor, pressing the
normal question marl (shifted C), and

pressing the shifted 9 араїп to exit
CRAPHICS mode. In lines 11, 13, 15,
and 17, to obtain "INKEYS", "AT", and

"VAL", press FUNCTION (shifted ENTER)
to get the inverse F cursor first, and
then press the single-key "word". Line
16 will occupy 2 lines on your screen;
that’s normal. (Everything in this
Paragraph applies to TIMEX BASIC only).

To use the subroutine, а GOSUR
instruction is required. GOSUB 10 will
work on my computer, but I use GOSUB 11
for efficiency.

If there are any questions about
this subroutine, please contact me ut

Soft Answer, phone (301) 474-7922.

Iswiiching lines ii and 12 тау improve this. Eg.

LEARNED ON THE _
і PORTS FOR 1/0

connector cables

ni i es, just those.
Liow the reading or
5 tches. If you want
г ha o just determine ir.
a switch closed, Find FEE eis
l conductors pre t.
Mith а а ced et mark Elec. in Balteville)
BINGt all 2053s have pin Э at
ground; mine does not, so I add-
ed a jumper from the dock con-
nector ground to the right side
Рогі co etor.
›а s аге rather iow if

controlled bu a
am,probably less than

4iThe port is set for input at

power up. TO switch to output,

execute SOUND 7,54, The data

i by SOUND 14.data.

back to input mode

OUND 7,9. To read
iTi

depends on
go high ог
iif

u want

The future is working at
General Electric |
y үне seen CT

d ne is °°

FOR PERSONAL COMPUTER USERS

-CASSETTE REINDERS

І keep running total accounts SAVEd
on ry ТЄ 1000. (Stock portfolio bal-
ances, fitness workouts, checkbook
balances, etc) І hate to SAVE twice,
If I save but once, every other day,
l am only out one day if 1 goof.

But, where is that last day? rencil
and paper I don't use. hat's a
computer (even TS 1000) for? І put
two SAVES on one side of tape, and
alternate between the two. To remem-
ber, I tape a strip of fimm paper

to label part of the cassette fron
side to side. Then I loop another
strip around thet, fold flat and tape
the end. Voila! Slide it fron side
to side to indicate where the last
SAVE is (was?) Good for the absent-
minded. Now all you have to do is
remerber to rewind to the beginning o?
the last S.VE so you start in the
right place. I haven't found anything
to help me with that. STEW VANCE

How To Send Your Resume
via your personal computer. .

First- Enter your resume onto your disk (it

should be in ASCII). There should be

no special characters in the resume

and each line should have a carriage

return. Your resume should be no

longer than 2 pages (100 lines) and "mmm
should include the position(s) you are
applying for and the best timesto

contact you.

300 Baud (301) 340-4800
1200 Baud (301) 340-5096

the бі» V second: Dial our number:

Third- Type several letter H’s. қ
Fourth- Enter the user code of GGV44101,GE

and press "RETURN" on your PC.

An equal opportunity employer

Washington fost 3/17/85 І

[TE
m

DRAH 5,
DRAN O,-
2.0

DRAW 8,5

the on Pinal was
blue bad news!

: DRAU
DRAN B8.-80. DR
,8: BRA ĝ,-100: 5-5.
-88,88: DRAW 2,-80: рваў

5
070 PLOT 8,18: DRAW 255,
-58,8: DRAG 3 -15: ы

a Б

readabi
Fength and
42; Fefrequency іп

G L
PRINT HT e.g
9.22; "AGE:

DUE RINT "RECEIUER: “HEATH HA- = ce PRINT BT 13,1;"X";RHT
гвар": PRINT : PRINT “ANTENNA: PSE SSL": RETURN
Ног-Баіп 58-184 shunt- 12

еі dipole, 48 feet up."

Thoughts We Have А11 Had and Never Expre sed
March 5, 1985

Dear Mark Fisher:

Ку first problem is that I seen to be several laps behind in ny knowledge
of tie 15 problem. Since 2048, spectrum and GL have come upon the Scene,

i have been unable to come to meetings because of conflicting farily
schedules on Saturdays (and besides, I'm way over here in Virginia).

while magazines se
the 2068, Spectrum,

to be aule to lzbel their differing articles on
L, 1000, and 1500 separately and keep them separated,
it appears that C н ni it What а pilye
We retarded citizens instrubéions we
must follow. І use а TS 1000, ani no other, so I have по need to read
and understand the material on other machines that is not pertinente
І hactheught I zxuixx could devine between the TS 1000 and 1500 and others
by tie upper and lower case letters aprearing in the programs, but now
and then we find that someone has cocied programs on other "word proces-
sorex" (I think) and failed to honor the difference.

Could you phtlish a definitive article about the differences between the
varous models and what can be transferred from one to another? That would
Lelp à lot. I can't contribute the article as I don't know, and it appears
that thosem who do know aren't contricuting. Needed is help.

I use my TS 1000 а lot. I have developed a library of financial calcklatbon
formulae which now are programs, an? thew help а lot. I also maintain
day-by-day track of a stock portfolio throukh a program I have written;
debugged and use althouzh it still needs work and probably always shall.

I doubt that my use and need will expand beyond the above. fut, I ап
syrp:thetic to others' problems in cerivinz other uses from the little
ronster, end F am interested in others§ interests and needs, so I cherish
the CATS i TTER, and would like to come to meetings.

Well, best regards, and best of luck.

Yours,

Stew Vance
Р.5. Examples;
CATS NEIWSLETTE= Marck 1985

page 11, "from T/S Users Group, ABILESE ТЕХ, Paul Kaserang

What machine is he talking of? Obviously not 1000, tut
that line "hen ving a program tc auto RUN by using LI:
line is а БЕУ" etc., is gob-béde;
knowledge.

V? Alsos
> if your first
оов to a TS 1000 user withou: specialized

page 12: "2063 Printing Calcul:tor" line 2: it should work on the Timex
1000if line 100 is changed." (Changed to what?) I challenge this to work
with any unstated chance оп a Timex 1000. “Example Line 44 or any other line
Wrich continues on without a new line after a colon. And, where did that
їз continued on p.14

continued from p.13
vertical arrow сопе from

in &àine 250? line 940? Enough! Schreck, a volunteer,

and not to be scorned, can't see teyond the end of his oim nose. i, the
newsletter editor is perhaps required to be an editor, not & reproüucer.
"hat's ppinter's job.

page lh: Ward Seguin's article on F 4t mochine?

I thought it sas a continuation of the Р. БАТА in foregoing C. TZ Newsletters,
Жші and for TS 10С0, but hat's t kit End(Upper and lower case) entry cn
line 70 doing? Writer or editor? 5стео!5 а at fault.

atmachiney Sure a lot of

page 15: Ward Seguin's Loan Arortization.
unfamiliar items for 4 TS 1000 user.

page lh: "Your?" commentary on Read/DATA б Def FN; “hile this is аё
to ones who use TS 1000, they have no ге”егеу to what you are talki
about, as YEAD/DATA are not TS 1020 talk, nor is DEF FN.

as

pud

MIRACLE TIME!

Fat Characters for your printer and your screen. i REH
CHARACTER
I'm happy to announce that that this thing
WORKS!

The thing I'm referring to is the accom-
panying listing, which allows MSCRIPT to work with

the FAT CHARACTER subroutine that was first А Га в т етт FLASH
developed by the Triangle Sinclair User's Group. v OADING MSCRI

PRINT AT 18,
MSCRIPT uses the 64 column mode of the 2068. 2f
Normally, this means that each bit is only half as
wide as normal, putting the character at the limit
of resolution for the average monitor (and well
beyond the limit for broadcast TV).

The following listing creates a new character
file, with all vertical lines two bits wide. This

""CODE
PRINT ат
"FOR BACK UP"
MSCRIPT'"

20,0; “PRESS
“ENTER TO START

THEN GO TO 12
OR INKEYE£E-"B"

2e
PRINT RT

15 С
сап be used with either the 2040 printer and your BROCK n : SRUE
normal programs, or MSCRIPT. ; PAUSE 108: =

To use the routine to get enhanced printouts PREUIND AND LEA
from your 2046 printer, type in lines 1 to 8, SAVE IFY F г ""COD
itythen MERGE with the program you'd like to ERIFY ОК”

enhance.
To use this with MSCRIPT, type in the full

listing, SAVE it, then load MSCRIPT CODE. Now, for

the first time, GOTO 1. The program will stall

while trying to LOAD MSCRIPT again. BREAK, and

GOTO 11; then press "b" and create a working
hybrid word processor.

In use, the fatter letters are much easier
to read. Only lower case "m" and "w" are dificult,
and even they are better than they were. Go for
it!

Great thanks are due to the person that
worked this out. Unfortunately, the author was
too modest to put his/her name in the first REM
Statement, and the cover letter was lost. Would
the real author please stand up?

Mark Fisher

14

ге DELETE H
21 CLEAR 64767: CL
Е USR 35864

AVOIDING THE FUNCTION
DISPATCHER

The 2058's function dispatcher
is intended to give application
Proarammers access to a number
or ROM routines, These routines
be more easily accessed bu
tali. The 284756542 or
e
Appendix A of the 2058
Manualje.g. service
routine 26 has the name PARP.
which according to the Appendix
if at @Ø@3F3 {hex}.

Mke Morris

can
a direct
all service routines can

in

REPLY to STEW

You're right on target with a lot of what you
say, Stew. I think your thoughts are shared by a
number of other members, І applaud you for having the
nerve to come out and name the troubles you're
having.

1000 vs 2062 vs Spectrum, etc.

You are right that the CATS newsletter often
fails to clearly describe the equipment used to
develop the listings. It can be quite hard to tell
them apart - and it dosen't need a word processor to
make itso; just "CAPS LOCK" on the 2048. In my
defense, I would say that you should consider whether
you; in fact, have "no need to read and understand
material on other machines that is not pertinent.”
You may find that your flexibility and control of
your 1000 will grow by learning something of the
Quirks of those other machines, In fact, the Sinclair
family are quite similar - there are just a few extra
things to understand, coming from the 1000.
Translating from other machines can be harder,
especially when string handling (Sinclairese is much
easier to use). But hard or easy, learning to adapt
programs written fram other machines can do wonders
in expanding your horizons.

You listed some specific questions at the end of
your letter; I've got some specific answers, and then
I'll follow with some genera: principals.

1. page 11; BEEP isn't a working word for the 1000 -
405 100К in the manual's index. There isn't any
“special Knowledge" that can evoke it. Seeing the
word BEEP should be enough to drop the rest of the
item.

2. page 12; The printing calculator piece was written
for the 2068; translating it to the 1000 involves
inserting extra lines fcr each colon, and changing
the PAUSE statements from PAUSE 6 to PAUSE
4E4,Translation can be a valuable skill, The
Knowledge you'll need will be useful when dealing
with programs from a variety of sources.

3.%5.,раде 14; Ward's article covered general
qualities of the READ/DATA command. While the 1000
daesn't have those Keywords, they can be simulated,
as discussed in my following article. Ward's use of
trailer data works with my routine as well. My
READ/DATA article was an abridged recap of an earlier
article - I can arrange for a copy of the original,

if you like. If you had punched it in, I think that

you would have understood what was meant.

4. page 15; that's right, it's for the 2062. But 99%

of it can be directly typed into the 1000, and the
rest is easily adapted. See below.

Signals that it ain't for the 1000 (and tips for

translation) 15

1f you see any of the following, you сап be sure
that the listing wasn't froma 1000. The suggested
translations aren't the last word - see item 6.

i.Multi-statement lines. Cure by writing
multiple lines. If there is an IF in the line,
all statements after it will be ignored if it is
false. Cure by using a succession of IF lines,
or by jumping to a subroutine.

2. PAUSE 9. Use PAUSE 4Е4. PLOT is another case

of identical commands, with different
parameters: the 2068's screen is 254x175, while
the 180075 is 44х64.

3.Lower case. Not infallible - see line 9900 of
this month's "AMORTIZE". CAPS LOCK on the 2068
can fool you also.

4. Apostrophes. The ‘is used in the 2668 to

drop one line. In last month's PRINTING
CALCULATOR; multiple PRINTs were used. Use PRINT
on a seperate line, or ",,".

5. Funny operators: 7, READ/DATA, DEF FN, VALS,
STICK, BEEP, DRAW, etc. tis ##. Sometimes the
others can be imitated by subroutines. READ/DATA
сап be used on the 1000 as I discussed last

month. VAL$ can't, but itis rarely used. STICK

can be replaced by INKEY$. BEEP, SOUND, etc. сап.
be ignored. CIRCLE and DRAW canbe replaced by
subroutines (I've got a good machine code DRAW,

if anybody wants it).

6. There are probably more, but I can't think of
them right now. If you readers have any further
tricks of translation, send them in - they'll be
printed.

AMORTIZE for the 1000

You may find the following program to be of help
as an example of translation from the 2068 to the
1000. It is a rework of Ward's Loan Amortization
program in last month's issue. Since the 2068
transcends SCROLLs, I had to put them back in the
program. The other additions were:

1. Schedule starts on any given month. New
variable ST. (stolen from Albert Strauss).

2. Yearly breakouts of interest and principal.
New variables YI, YP, and YT.

3. Echo to printer (turn printer off to disable,
or delete lines). LPRINT lines are set up for an
80 column printer - if you've got а 2040, make

10 REM жжж AMORTIZATION ***
EQUAL PAYMENTS
20 REM BY Ы SEGUIN, 1985 - TRA
NSLATED TO T/Si888 BY M FISHER
38 PRINT 'AMORTIZATION TABLE"
48 LPRINT "AMORTIZATION TABLE"
50 PRINT ,, "AMOUNT BORROWED ="

68 LPRINT "AMOUNT BORROWED =";

78 INPUT P

80 PRINT Р

90 LPRINT Р

188 PRINT ,,"NO. OF YEARS TO PA
Y=";

118 LPRINT
E

128 INPUT Y
138 PRINT Y
148 LPRINT Y

150 PRINT ,,"STARTING AT MONTH
NO. «(1 TO 12 ";

168 LPRINT "STARTING AT MONTH N
0. «1 TO 12) ";

178 INPUT ST

188 PRINT ST

198 LPRINT ST

200 REM COMPUTE NO. GF MONTHS
218 LET M-12xY

228 PRINT ,,"INTREST/YR (8 1/2
PCT-6.50-";

238 LPRINT "INTREST/YR (6 1/2 P
CT-26.50-";

248 INPUT I

250 PRINT !

268 LPRINT I

"NO. OF YEARS TO PAY

278 REM MONTHLY INT
280 LET R-1/(108*125

298 REM EQUAL MONTHLY PAYMENTS

380 LET М1=‹1+В> «M

310 LET E-(P*RXxM1) (CL EROXXM-12
320 LET Е-СІМТ (Ex100*.52)/108

330 REM CALC, THEN PRINT

348 LET TI-8

358 LET TP-TI

360 LET SP-TI

378 LET YI-TI

380 LET YP-TI

398 LET YT-TI

408 PRINT ,,,,

418 PRINT "MONTHLY PAYMENT -";E
428 LPRINT "MONTHLY PAYMENT =";
E

438 SCROLL

448 PRINT "MO PRINCIPAL INTERE

8 PRINCIPL"

450

LPRINT "PAY MO PRINCIPAL I

NTEREST PRINCIPL"
4668
476

T
490

óða
618

SCROLL
PRINT
PAYMT"
LPRINT "МО NO
PAYMT"

REM THEN PRINT DASHES

"мо OWED PAYMN

OWED

ІЕ
IF J
LET I1-(INT

-P1
‹11=#1@00@+,5)›/1@

LET PI=(INT (Р1#1@@+.5)›/1@

SCROLL

LPRINT J;TAE 4387; TAR OPT

АВ 28;11;TAB 27;P1

628 PRINT ST;TAB S:Ps TAB 14;11;
TAB 25;P1

63@ REM COMPUTING TOTALS

648 LET TI=S=TI+It

658 LET ҮІ=ҮІ+11

660 LET ТР=ТР+Р1+11

670 LET YT=YT+Pi+it

688 LET SP=SP+P1

698 LET YP=YP+P!

708 LET P=CINT “(Р-Р12ж108».,599
2108

718 IF ST=i2 THEN GOSUB 918

728 REM YEAR TOTALS

730 LET ST-ST*!

748 IF 57=13 THEN LET ST-:

758 NEXT 2

758 GOSUB 918

770 REM COMPUTING SUMMARY TOTAL
5

788 LET TI=( INT (Т1%188%.522/18
Li

798 LET SP=CINT (SPX*188*,702/18
a

888 LET ТР-СІМТ (ТР#100+.5))/19
@

9818 SCROLL

828 PRINT "TOTAL INTEREST =" {ТІ

830 LPRINT "TOTAL INTEREST ="37
I

848 SCROLL

858 PRINT "TOTAL PRINCIPAL-";SP
868 LPRINT "TOTAL PRINCIPAL =";

Ei

878 SCROLL

880 PRINT "TOTAL PAYMENTS =" ТР
890 LPRINT "TOTAL PAYMENTS z";T
P

yea STOP

918 REM xxx» YEARLY SUBS x*xx
928 SCROLL | >
930 PRINT "YEAR NO. ";INT 4J/12
2%1;" TOTALS:"

940 LPRINT "YEAR NO.
руін" TOTALS:"
958 SCROLL

960 PRINT "

PRINCIPL"

978 LPRINT "
T PRINCIPL"
780 SCROLL
998 PRINT "
PAYMT"
LPRINT "
PAYMT"
1810 SCROLL
1820 LPRINT TAB 3;YT;TAB 14;Y1;T
ӨБ 22;YP
1020 PRINT TAB 3;YTiTAB 14;У1;ТА
В 22;ҮР
1848 LET Y1-8
1858 LET Y
LET YT=¥1
SCROLL
PRINT “--------------------
SCROLL
PRINT “MO
Y PRINC."
1118 LPRINT "NO MO
NT. PY PRINC."
1128 SCROLL
1136

"SINT (GL

TOTAL INTEREST

TOTAL INTERES

PAID PAYMNT

1888 PAID PAYMNT

BALANCE INT. F

BALANCE 1

TF PEEK Х%256%РЕЕК (X+1)>=9
888 THEN STOP

9830 POKE X,INT (№256)

7840 POKE X*1,N-CPEEK X*256)
9858 LET Х=Х+РЕЕК (X+2)+PEEK (X+
3+4
9868
9878
9988
9918

LET М=М+1й

GOTO 9928

SAVE "AMORTIZe"
RUN

سم

17

м LPRINT identical to the PRINT line near
it.

To simplify the typing, DEF FN could be added by
adding a line:

5 LET FS-"INT (Х%100%.52/188"
and replacing each incidence of the String with two
lines: ex:

575 LET X«I1

588 LET I!1-UVAL FS

Lines 9000 to 9070 are a quick re-numbering
utility that I put in to clean up my print out [see
Hacking in BASIC, this issue].

Mark Fisher

DOUBLE PRECISION

This code will do "doubie
Precision" -that is it will take
ішо G-digit numbers and give a
i5-digit number. It accompiishes
is by breaking each S-digit
num.er into two 4-digit numbers
and then multiplying them. The
Products are then suitably re-
combined.

5 REM DOUBLE PRECISION
18 PRINT "Give First number i:
sS digits)": INPUT a: PRINT a: P

20 PRINT "Give second
5:8 digits)": INPUT b: PRINT b:

PRINT
LET ahzINT (а/10%4): LET ai
(а-10%4ғаһ%.1)
LET ЪҺ=ІМТ (bvi@t4i: LET bl
fp-10tásbhe.1)
3@ LET chhzahxbh
Chlizahzbti

number i

LE

72 LET CHET tthil/i8tà4i:
LET: chLLI=INT (єһї1-1@14+сһ{Һ1+.

72 LET сһіһг-іІМТ ichi2/10t4i:
LET ChIL2-INT ichl2-10táscChih22.

ӘӘ LET cLihzINT (с11/1@14}: LE
ELLLZINT (cLi-10t4sCcliha.1i

i Cl=iOtdechhh+chhi+chiba
h

80 LET c2-1üt4sichllischii2aci
Hehe
e
e

c

L

2 IF C2:10t8 THEN GO TO 112

4 LET сё=1йї&+(їсһї11-5@йй}+‹

Le-S@@Gi+cithiect ee

6 LET с1ссізі.

"AAI"

TO 7

<1@tx) THEN GO TO i22
x

PRINT сі; са

STOP

c

LET шӛшіФіх ТО)
PRINT ci;u$;c2

Ronls А. Schracit

HACKING in BASIC
RENUMBERING INCLUDING GOTO and GOSUB

There have been several examples of renumbering
routines that have run in the CATS newsletter over the
years, They have al! shared а common failing - they
couldn't alter the GOTOs and GOSUBs. This is a problem
in BASIC, because all program jumps (GOTO & GOSUE) are
absolute jumps. The program jumps to a specific line
number, not a specific number of lines foreward. When a
program is renumbered, a given number may refer to a
very different line in the program.

In thinking about the problem, it seemed that the
only way to change the GOTOs was via machine code.
Programs such as this are available, called toolkits.
But even the best of the toolkit programs can't handle

renumbering computed GOSUBS, such as GOSUB 500#X+1000.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, 1 realized that there

UNCLASSIFIED

FOR SALE: T/S 266% & Westridge MODEM.
Cali Richard,Roland, or Constance Roseer
703-527-3467 or 703-533-2570

FOR SALE: 2 T/S 2069's, 2 cassette recorders, 2 2046
printers, + software. Nc reasonable offer refused, Mark
{no relation}; 548-7615 (Н! 344-5919 (W

FREE: Excellent catalog. Write Sunset Electronics, 2254
Taraval St., San Fransisco СА 94116

FOR SALE: Typewriters - IBM Selectric ! $250 & IBM
Model C 875,00. No reasonable offer refused.
301-559-4281.

MRI books offers a catalog of 1500 computer books
(including Mastering Machine Code), free. MRI Books,
Alexandria VA, 549-5537

is a way to change ALL GOTOs and GOSUBs from absolute

jumps, to relative jumps. And it's all in BASIC, on
either the 1000 or the 2068! With relative jumps: a
block of instructions can be changed from lines 100-300
to 400-600, while a GOTO that jumps ahead 3 lines (or
30) continues to work.

For the 1000: start your program with

1 LET F$-"PEEK 16391425ó* PEEK 16392"

After running this line, PRINT VSL ЕФ will return the

current line number! This takes advantage of the system
variable PPC, that holds the line number being
executed. An absolute jump to two lines ahead might be
written

28 GOTO 48

(assuming you are using intervals of ten for each
line). To change this іс a relative jump to two lines
ahead, substitute:

20 GOTO VAL Ғ%%29

As written, it will GOTO line 46. If it is renumbered
to line 89, it will GOTO line 100.

Computed GOTOs are also possible, as in GOSUB VAL
F$#500+100@. The only time this will fail, is if you
change the numbering interval, or add a line of code
within the numbers skipped by the СОТО. Obviously, this
is more likely for large jumps than small - but it's
the small jumps that often just can't be avoided.

For the 2069: the 2068 has a real DEF FN command, and
this is a perfect place to use it:

1 DEF FN #¢€)=PEEK 23221+255#РЕЕК 23622

followed by
28 GOTO FM #1) +29

Try this out for yourself - a renumbering program
is hidden in lines 9000 to 9070 of the AMORTIZER
program in this issue.

Mark Fisher

For parts for all those hardware projects, try: Revacto
or Heathist in Rockville, Electronics Plus in College
Park, or Mark [no relation] Electromcs in Beltsville.

—

Thoughts on MSCRIPT

I've used MSCRIPT to write several of the articles
in this issue. There has been a lot c? learning that!
had to do. In general, I agree with the review we ran
last month. There have been some surprises.

1.14 is more easily used that I feared. I’ve diddled
with WORDSTAR, and have yet to feel comfortabl
with it. MSCRIPT is all right.

2. As it comes, it is hard to read, even on a monitor.
Fat Characters totally fixes this.

3, Its tape SAVES and LOADs are its biggest weakness.
It dosen’t use the standard T/S routines, and will
not load "". Most importantly, it cannot VERIFY.
I've already lost several files due to glitches of
some sort, on good tape. (Learning goes on - 1
just realized that 1 could use the Append command
to verify that a file could be reloaded, without
destroying the original.)

4. Its operation is smooth. This is а professionaly
done program, and it shows. It is tolerant of
variations in commands: LM=9, 1mz9, and 1m? all do
the same thing. Its HI command (hanging indent) is
a treasure. I’m using it now.

5, The manual is easy to read and comprehensive. It
does not include a command summary for its
numerous commands.

Rating: a slightly tarnished эн,

Capitol Area Timex/Sinclair Users! Group
P.0.Box 725
Bladensburg, MD 20710

Хале

Address

ZIP

Phone Eone Office

nenbersnips - 315.00 (fanily/individual);make checks parable tc C.A.T.S.
If family membership, please list family members particinating:

Occupation

Ham Radio call sign

Equipment
2Х 50 HAM size
Ка 80 full keyboard
21 51 Printer
25 1000 type pe
25 2200 other interface

special interesi use for computer: ie, games, han radio interface,

business, other, etc,

Languages: Basic Other

Hachine

No. of years computer experience

What committees would you like to serve оп?

Comments;

Do not write below:
Dte Ра, Amt. Membership No.

Са. Ck,

19

SON згох

тны GbZ'Z 12 @@91 's«*pung***jeN 11412016 үеио!бәм uJé35t3
SON dt^N ZHW SbE'b] few! pero, "u'd& 's4epsaupamt** 3aN X20
UOT3*UJOg3U] XJOMi3N біреу шен

*AJ03Q11 2118nd
q2ueug чо03|(092е2 мәм әці 30 шооч би: әәш ebuv, sua U! ‘Wd
Z 3* чачош yore фо AKepunges puodas ayy uo Prey eve s6ut3884

2920-224%10Е
1059539 5ЗІПГ $! 6192 20) uossed ұоеучоэ ([*!21440 әчү

دسل ډډد ۰۶

[euosuad фо A\IWE} чіероотсбихәшір əy} noge avow Burusea| U!

1 рәузаләуи! әле JO “әп tumo Oym asoy} zO 635ә2ә%иі ayy Öurasəs
оз рәҙесірәр уоіуегічебоо ұбәләҙуиі (#12205 3!40Jd-uOU è 5! 5109

81202 aw ‘Sungsuepeia

622 хов “0а

81625 %,295П 21%|5815/хәші) esse |6%/4е5
rst 41525

%Ж;:295 21%|5016/Х9ШІІ FI |5%14%3 əy} 40 SSauppe Óuiieu aut

никак нта ма келен т кк КЕТЕРІ

CATS Newsletter
Р.О. Box 725
Bladensburg MD 20718

The next meeting of CATS wi?" be held ол:
яяя SATURDAY, April 13, 1985 3 2:69 PM

New Carrolton Public Library
7414 Riverdale Road, New Carrolton, MD

IF YOU ARE NOT A MEMBER OF CATS. THIS 16 THE ONLY ISSUE YOU WILL RECIEVE
Dues = $15.88 per year, per family.

DATED MATERIAL